30.05 Exploring Scientific Issues: Methodology, Theory, and Ethics in the Sciences 3 hours; 3 credits

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1 30.05 Exploring Scientific Issues: Methodology, Theory, and Ethics in the Sciences 3 hours; 3 credits A critical examination of three fundamental sorts of scientific issues, methodological, theoretical, and moral. Exploration of the nature of scientific inquiry, scientific knowledge, pseudoscience. Examination of controversial theories, and of ethical issues relating to scientific research. Prerequisite: Junior standing and satisfaction of all lower-tier requirements in Scientific Inquiry Common Goals Addressed by Core course: 1. To understand what knowledge is and how it is acquired by the use of differing methods in different disciplines (2, 7, 17). 2. To develop the ability to think critically and creatively, to reason logically, to reason quantitatively, and to express one s thoughts orally and in writing with clarity and precision (9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 15, 16, 21). 3. To develop the ability to make sound moral judgments (1, 26). 4. To acquire the tools that are required to understand and respect the natural universe (5, 18, 27). 5. To be capable of integrating knowledge from diverse sources (28). Objectives of Core Course: 1.Students will acquire an understanding of scientific knowledge, and the nature of scientific inquiry. (2) 2 Students will acquire an understanding of research methodology used in the sciences. (17) 3 Students will develop skills of conceptual analysis and argumentation, relating especially to skills of thinking critically about scientific issues, methodological, theoretical, and ethical.(9) 4 Students will be able to explain, explore, and critically examine scientific views and issues clearly in writing. (11) 5 Students will be able to communicate thought relating to scientific views and scientific issues orally. (12) 6 Students will be able to develop a basis for interpreting and evaluating scientific texts. (13) 7 Students will acquire an ability to critically examine ethical issues in science. (1) 8 Students will be able to explain and critically examine the methodological foundations, and some theories, and theoretical and moral issues of modern science, and to apply this understanding to particular cases. (5) 9 Students acquire an understanding of scientific inquiry, and, using this foundation, students acquire an ability to evaluate scientific theories and scientific issues. (5) 10 Students will be able to differentiate between facts, hypotheses and theories, to describe how hypotheses are modified with further testing, to predict outcomes and formulate tests for hypotheses, to recognize that hypothesis formation and testing is part of their everyday lives. (18) 11 Students will be able to show that issues may be regarded from multiple viewpoints, and to provide and critically examine arguments for various different viewpoints. (28)

2 Outcomes for Core Course: 1 Students can explain the nature and role of methods used in the sciences and how this differs from pseudoscience and other methods of inquiry. (2) 2 Students can identify scientific methodology, can explain the role of evidence in science, and can analyze and critically examine arguments supporting scientific conclusions. (17) 3 Students can analyze, critically examine and engage with scientific issues relating to scientific methodology, scientific theories, and ethics and science. (9) 4 Students can effectively use writing to reflect on, to explain, and to critically examine scientific concepts, theories, and issues. (11) 5 Students can orally explain, and critically examine scientific concepts, theories, and issues (12) 6 Students can analyze and interpret scientific writings and philosophical writings that examine scientific issues. (13) 7 Student can recognize, explain, evaluate, and respond to ethical issues in science. (1) 8 Students can explain, critically examine, and evaluate the methodological foundations, and some theories, and theoretical and moral issues of modern science. (5) 9 Students can distinguish facts, hypotheses and theories, can explain the formulation and modification of hypotheses and the prediction of outcomes. (18) 10 Students can identify and explain different responses to scientific issues and can critically examine and evaluate arguments for different viewpoints. (28) Course Outline: Weeks 1-4: Methodological Issues Week 1-2: Scientific method and the justification of beliefs. C. S. Peirce: Fixation of Belief. A.F. Chalmers. "What is this Thing Called Science?, 1982, Ch. 1. Week 3: Induction, Prediction, Probability. David Hume, selection from An Enquiry Concerning Human Understanding. Nelson Goodman: The New Riddle of Induction in Fact, Fiction, and Forecast. Week 4: Progress, Rationality and Science. Imre Lakatos, "Science and Pseudoscience", in Martin Curd and J. A. Cover, eds., Philosophy of Science: The Central Issues (New York and London: W. W. Norton & Company, 1998) pp Paul Feyerabend, "How to Defend Society Against Science", Radical Philosophy, No. 11 (1975), pp Weeks 5-10: Theoretical Issues: Week 5-7: The Big Bang Theory. Readings selected from such works as the following: Edward R. Harrison, Cosmology: The Science of the Universe, 2000; William Lane Craig and Quentin Smith, Theism, Atheism, and Big Bang Cosmology, 1995; Steven W. Hawking, A Brief History of Time, 1998; Origin of the Universe, Helge Kragh, Cosmology and Controversy: The Historical Development of Two Theories of the Universe, Week 8-10:: Evolution. Readings selected from such works as the following: Charles Darwin, Origin of the Species; Ernst Mayr, What Evolution is, 2001; Daniel Dennett, Darwin's Dangerous Idea, 1995; Philip Kitcher, Abusing Science, The Case Against Creationism; 1993.

3 Weeks 11-14: Ethical issues: Week 11 : Social responsibility of the scientific investigator. David Resnick, The Ethics of Science, 1998 (selections). Edward Erwin, Sidney Gendin, Lowell Kleiman (Editor), Ethical Issues in Scientific Research: An Anthology (selections) Week 12: Experimentation using animals, John P. Gluck, Tony Dipasquale, F. Barbara Orlans (Editors), Applied Ethics in Animal Research (selections). Tom Regan, Animal Rights and Human Obligations (selections). Week 13: The use of human subjects. Research on Human Subjects by D.N. Weisstub (selections); James H. Jones. Bad Blood: The Tuskegee Syphilis Experiment, Revised Edition. New York: Free Press, Thomas Blass. The Man Who Shocked the World: The Life and Legacy of Stanley Milgram. New York: Basic Books, Stanley Milgram. Obedience to Authority. New York: Harper and Row, Week 14: Genetic Engineering. Michael Boylan, Kevin Brown, Genetic Engineering: Science and Ethics on the New Frontier, 2001) (selections). Leroy Walters, The Ethics of Human Gene Therapy, (selections). Methods of Evaluation: Midterm (20%), Final (45%), Research Paper (20%), Writing Assignments (10%), Class Participation (5%). Methods of Assessment: 1 Students are asked to explain the scientific method and how this differs from pseudoscience and other methods of inquiry. (2) 2 Students are asked to explain scientific reasoning and to provide support for or opposition to arguments for scientific conclusions. (17) 3 Students are asked to explain a controversial scientific issue, to present a response to this issues, and an argument supporting or opposing this response.. 4 Students are asked to write an explanation of a controversial scientific concept, and alternative analyses of the concept by different thinkers. (11) 5 Students are asked to present orally an explanation of a scientific issues and alternative responses to this issue. (12) 6 Students are asked to analyze important passages from scientific writings or from philosophical writings that examine scientific issues. (13) 7 Student are asked to explain a controversial ethical issue of science, to present a response to this issue, and to provide an argument in support of this response.. (1) 8 Students are asked to identify and discuss an issue relevant to scientific method, or to a scientific theory, and or to a moral issue in science.(5) 9 Students are asked to distinguish and to explain facts, hypotheses and theories. (18) 10 Students are asked to identify and explain different responses to particular scientific issues and to critically examine and evaluate arguments for different viewpoints on these scientific issues. (28)

4 Assessment Tools: Diagnostic and end-of-term writing assignments. Research paper and class presentation. Homework and in-class essay questions that require explanation and critical examination of claims and arguments relevant to the sciences, to scientific method, scientific concepts, scientific theories, and ethical issues. Bibliography Baird, Robert M., and Rosenbaum, eds. Animal Experimentation: The Moral Issues. Amherst: Prometheus, Blass, Thomas. The Man Who Shocked the World: The Life and Legacy of Stanley Milgram. New York: Basic Books, Bloor, David. Science and Social Imagery. London: Routledge, Boyd, Richard, Gasper, Philip, and Trout, J.D., eds. The Philosophy of Science. Cambridge: MIT Press, Chalmers, A.F. What is this Thing Called Science? Second Edition. Indianapolis: Hackett, Cohen, I. Bernard. The Birth of a New Physics. New York: Doubleday, Cover, Jan A., and Curd, Martin. Philosophy of Science: The Central Issues. New York: Norton, Cushing, James T., and McMullin, Ernan. Philosophical Consequences of Quantum Theory. Notre Dame: University of Notre Dame Press, Dennett, Daniel. Darwin's Dangerous Idea. New York: Simon and Schuster, Feynman, Richard. The Character of Physical Law. Cambridge: MIT Press, QED: The Strange Theory of Light and Matter. Princeton: Princeton University Press, Galilei, Galileo. Two New Sciences. Translated by Stillman Drake. Madison: University of Wisconsin Press. Galison, Peter. How Experiments End. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, Glymour, Clark. Theory and Evidence. Princeton: Princeton University Press, Goodman, Nelson. Fact, Fiction and Forecast. Fourth Edition. Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 1979.

5 Greene, Brian. The Elegant Universe. New York: Vintage, Hacking, Ian. An Introduction to Probability and Inductive Logic. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, Hanson, Norwood. Patterns of Discovery. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, Hempel, Carl. Philosophy of Natural Science. Englewood Cliffs: Prentice-Hall, Huggett, Nick, ed. Space from Zeno to Einstein: Classic Readings with a Contemporary Commentary. Cambridge: MIT Press, Hughes, R.I.G. The Structure and Interpretation of Quantum Mechanics. Cambridge: Harvard University Press, Hume, David. Treatise of Human Nature. Edited by David Fate Norton and Mary J. Norton. Oxford: Oxford University Press, Jones, James H. Bad Blood: The Tuskegee Syphilis Experiment. Revised Edition. New York: Free Press, Kitcher, Philip. The Advancement of Science. Oxford: Oxford University Press, Science, Truth and Democracy. Oxford: Oxford University Press, Kuhn, Thomas. The Copernican Revolution. New York: Random House, The Structure of Scientific Revolutions. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, The Essential Tension. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, Latour, Bruno, Woolgar, Steve and Salk, Jonas. Laboratory Life. Princeton: Princeton University Press, Laudan, Larry. Science and Values. Berkeley: University of California Press, Lloyd, Elizabeth. The Structure and Confirmation of Evolutionary Theory. Princeton: Princeton University Press, Mermin, David. Is the Moon There When Nobody Looks? Reality and the Quantum Theory. Physics Today (April 1985): Milgram, Stanley. Obedience to Authority. New York: Harper and Row, 1975.

6 Miller, Richard. Fact and Method. Princeton: Princeton University Press, Nye, Mary Jo. From Chemical Philosophy to Theoretical Chemistry: Dynamics of Matter and Dynamics of Disciplines, Berkeley: University of California Press, Peirce, Charles Sanders. The Essential Peirce: Selected Philosophical Writings ( ). Edited by Christian Kloesel and Nathan Houser. Bloomington: Indiana University Press, Perrin, Jean. Atoms. Translated by D. Hammick. Woodbridge: Ox Bow Press, Popper, Karl. Conjectures and Refutations. London: Routledge, Salmon, Wesley, ed. Zeno's Paradoxes. Indianapolis: Hackett, Sklar, Lawrence. Space, Time and Spacetime. Berkeley: University of California Press, Skyrms, Brian. Choice and Chance. Fourth Edition. Belmont: Wadsworth, Sober, Elliott. The Nature of Selection. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, van Fraassen, Bas. The Scientific Image. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1980.